Out of the Mouths of Babes...

1.  Lucie has been saying the funniest things lately.  She told me that she loved me more than Dad.  I said, "Why?  You should love both of us the same."  She said, "I know Mom, but you learn better than Dad does."  I said, "What do you mean?" she said, "You know, Mom, how when you take us to the gas station, and you know just how to turn the key so that we can still listen to Taylor Swift with the car off?  Well, Dad doesn't know how to do that, so you get more points than he does.  That is why I love you more..."

2.  While driving the other day, I was telling the girls that I was going to finish my master's degree and finally graduate.  I told Lucie that she was going to graduate from preschool and that Marlie was also going to graduate from second grade.  All of a sudden in a small voice from the back seat of the car, Lucie said, "That's great, Mom, but what about Dad?"  A few seconds later, while I was trying to think of some great answer, knowing Dad wasn't going to graduate from anything I could think of, Marlie said, "I know Mom!  Dad is graduating too!  He is going to graduate from tending us a lot while you have been at school!"  

3.  Lucie told Marlie that the Easter Bunny wasn't real.  Marlie got all upset and kept trying to convince her that it was real.  Then Lucie said, "Marlie, I know the one that comes to our house is real, but the one you see like at the grocery store and at the mall - that one is just a man dressed up.  It's sooooo obvious!"  

The Mayan

Lucie chose the Mayan for her birthday dinner.  We invited her favorite primary teacher, Kandie, and her husband Bruce, as well as the Easton Family.  The divers were a hit and this Mayan dude even gave them a magic stone marble.  The kids had fun and yes, the food is a lot better than it used to be!

This is Marlie with her two cousins Savannah (left) and Sydney (right).  They are best friends and they love their American dolls!  

I finally made it up skiing!  I went with my sister Heidi (who has gotten totally addicted to skiing now) and we had a BLAST!  I stayed so late that I almost didn't make it home to go out with our friends for their birthday dinner!  If it wasn't so expensive, I'd be there every Saturday!  I owe it all to my friend Jen from Park City who got me a ticket to the Canyons for half price.  She even threw in a coupon for free hot chocolate.  I love you, Jennifred!

I couldn't call this blog complete without a picture of our one and only pet, Princess.  She is such a good pet - she never sheds, poops or pees on the floor, and she only eats three tiny drops of fish food every other day.  I don't have to take her for a walk or push her out of my bed.  All I have to do is clean her bowl once every two weeks.  

My Lucie turned FIVE!!!

My little Lou Lou Bird turned five a few weeks ago and of course we had to have the "Pet Shop/Salon" party that she has been talking about and planning for an entire year...  She invited her four best friends and her sister Marlie and we headed off to Cameo College Salon for manicures, hairdos and of course, makeup.  The girls had a blast and then we went back for Pet Shop cake and icecream, not to mention lots of presents to open.  It turned into a great day!  

We also celebrated with family the next day and had breakfast:  cinnamon rolls and a hot chocolate bar, not to mention the limbo, the feather game (can you keep your feather in the air??), and Uncle Rob singing Jack Johnson on his guitar.  

On her actual birthday we went to the Mayan Restaurant with the Dayton's and the Easton's.  The food was great (really) and the diving show was just the perfect diversion (no pun intended) for all of the kids.  Her birthday was a fun-filled three whole days (wish I could stretch my own birthday out that long!)

The Chocolate Donut at Holiday

This post deserves the title because it is our biggest temptation.  Marlie brought her camera one day and we had to document what we love almost more than life itself on our blog... The Dunford Chocolate Cake Donut...  (What more can we say????)

Grandparents

We went over to Grandpa and Grandma Packer's house to visit and Great Grandma Erickson was there.  Kevin and I used to live with her and Great Grandpa when we were refinishing our house in Cottonwood Heights about 8 years ago.  Since then, Great Grandpa passed away and Great Grandma has been holding down the fort at her house in Murray.  We just love her and I was so glad to get some pictures of us together.  The best thing about her is her laugh - she has always been a very happy person.  We love you Grandma!

SLEDDING 101

We finally made it out sledding!  We had so much fun (even though it was FREEZING outside that day) and we only had to go as far as an elementary school by my mom's house.  We only had one tube but we took turns, and the kids, as you can see, had a blast!    

Ringing in the New Year!

We had most of the Packer side come over to our house on New Year's Eve.  Chris and Cory both brought their Wii games and we had pizza and treats (too many, but it's the last day of the year, so I kept eating and eating and eating!)  Lucie wanted so badly to bang the pots and pans when the clock struck midnight, but, as the pictures tell, she didn't make it!  The cousins had a great time all night long!